Last Resort
by Melinda-chan
Summary: Chapter Six uploaded! The Merry Go crew gets stranded on a seemingly deserted island, only to find a girl! In this chapter, the truth will be revealed! Will they get out of the island alive? Read and review!
1. Chapter 1

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Last Resort by Melinda-chan

This story is rated T (PG-13) due to violence, profanity, alcohol and tobacco usage and a few sexual references. For younger readers, reader discretion is advised.

I live in the North Atlantic, where pirate legends and tales of buried treasure are legion. I therefore had very good sources at my disposal for my story. Still if you notice anything that is not right, please let me know. I'll be eternally grateful.

Now that is over with, let this story begin!

SLAM!

The sound of the door caused some of the bar patrons to look right at it. They all now looked surprised. It was not the stranger that caught the mostly male patrons- it was the fact that the stranger was a woman!

They all saw the purple-haired woman go to the bar counter. The bartender looked at her with a little suspicision.

"Give me a glass of whiskey" the woman said. She then looked at him straight in the eye. "And no grog." Now a little intimidated, the man nodded and went back to work. The woman sat on a stool as she waited.

Nearby, two men were sitting at a small table started talking.

"Do you see that?" one of the men said. "She must be a bounty hunter."

"Aye," the man with the white moustache nodded. "Look at the weapon she has on her back! It's a chain ball with spikes!"

"I sure would not want that at my head" the first man said.

"It's a good thing that pirate crew left when it did-huh?" the other man said. All of a sudden the woman turned at their direction.

WHAM! The spiked ball landed on the table where the two men were. Their glasses shook, pouring their contents onto the table.

A knife protruded from the ball, which stuck into the table. The men trembled in fear.

"Did you say that a pirate crew was here?" the woman asked, looking at their eyes as she did.

"Yes-Yes ma'am," the first man replied. "They- they were two boys, two full-grown men and a girl. They came just an hour ago!"

"Tell me where they went!" the woman said. The men saw the urgency on her face.

"Well, they said they were going to the Grand Line so I assume they went up north," the white-moustached man said.

"That's all I need to know. Thanks for the tip" the woman said. She then lifted her chain ball off the table. The knife went back inside the ball. The men calmed down.

"Ma'am, your whiskey is ready," the bartender said. At once, the purple-haired woman turned around, grabbed the drink and took it in one gulp. All the men looked at her in amazement for that feat.

"That'll be ten berries, ma'am," the bartender said.

"Here" the woman said. She handed him a card. "Put it in my account." The bartender looked at her card.

"No way! You're a real bounty hunter!" the man said in disbelief. At that, all of the men looked at her again.

"You're an actual bounty hunter!" one of the men asked her.

"I am," the woman said. "I was offered 20 million berries for their capture, and some members of that crew are worth more than that."

"You don't say!" a man at a nearby table said. "If we knew that, we could have captured them ourselves and get the reward."

"You wouldn't even get a hair of them," the woman said. "In fact, you might be at the wrong edge of a sword!" At that she took out a long, curved sword. "My Swordcutter can do an job faster than anything you possess. I appreciate the offer of assistance, though." She then looked at the bartender. "You got my receipt?"

"Um, yes, ma'am," the bartender said. "Your receipt and card are ready." She picked them up.

"I have to leave now" the dark-haired woman said. "The longer I stay here, the longer I have to go to reach them." She then went to the door.

"If the pirate crew was so tough, why would they send someone like you after them?" a man with a cigar asked her. "You're just a girl." She looked at him. Almost everyone else braced themselves for an attack like before.

Instead she smiled at him.

"I'm being sent because I'm a girl," the woman said. "You see, I'm the last resort."

End of Chapter One

This is my first One Piece story, so I hope I can create a good one. One Piece (1997) was created by Eiichiro Oda and distributed by Viz and Toei Animation. Please do not forget to review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two of "Last Resort" by Melinda-chan**

Thank you all who reviewed, especially KuroKame and Rayame325! I hope you like the second chapter as well!

It was a quiet day for once for Nami.

Nami put her arms on the side of the ship. The water bobbed up and down as a small and cool breeze brushed against her face. She rested her chin on her hands. It was so peaceful.

"Nami!"

Argh! She should have known the peace would be short-lived.

"What is it, Luffy?" Nami yelled. The straw hat boy went next to her, looking right at the water.

"It sure is vast! How far is it until we reach the Grand Line?" Luffy asked. Nami tried not to sigh.

"You know there's a huge land mass that separates the two oceans in this world, right?" Nami said. Luffy said nothing in reply. "Anyway, in the middle of that land mass is a town. There's a sea route that cuts through that town and goes around the world. That sea route is the Grand Line. I believe that we should go to that town and restock. Discreetly, of course, since there's a bounty on us."

"That makes sense," Luffy said. "But you didn't answer my question."

"A day or two," Nami answered. "It'll be sooner if we have a strong wind."

"I see" Luffy said. Footsteps could be heard from behind. Luffy looked back and smiled.

"Usopp! How's Zoro and Sanji?" Luffy asked.

"Alive and I'm shocked," Usopp answered. "I didn't know that anyone could lose so much blood and still survive."

"I don't know about Sanji, but I know that it's hard to knock Zoro down. That guy could be half-dead and still be fighting" Nami said. She then looked at Luffy. "However, if you guys are going to keep getting into fights, then the next crew member should be a doctor."

"I got it," Luffy said. "At least we got a cook now."

"If he survives the journey" Nami said.

"I heard that" the voice of the blond-haired cook spoke out. Nami turned to him. Zoro was with him. Their wounds were still apparent.

"Are you guys immortal?" Nami asked them. "You guys should still be in bed!"

"It's just a head wound!" Sanji said, taking a puff out of his eternal cigarette.

"I'll survive" Zoro said. Nami looked at Luffy.

"That's it! After we go to the Grand Line, we're getting a doctor!" she said.

"Sure thing," Luffy said. He then hugged himself. "Is it me or is it getting colder?"

"The sky is getting dark," Usopp said, looking up ahead.

"It's a storm!" Nami said. She then looked at Luffy. "What should we do, Luffy?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Luffy asked her.

"Because you're the captain!" Nami said.

"Oh yeah!" Luffy said. He then looked up ahead. "If that's the only way to the Grand Line, then full speed ahead and hold on!"

"We got to strap everything that could be thrown overboard!" Nami said. "And we also need to keep the sails and the mast flag up!"

"I'm on it!" Usopp said. He then tightened the ropes to the sails and the mast flag and tied them.

"How bad will the storm be?" Zoro asked Nami.

"I don't know yet, but someone watch over Luffy just in case, alright?" Nami asked Sanji and Zoro.

"Sure thing Nami" Sanji said.

"If I'm the captain, how come you're giving out the orders?" Luffy questioned.

"Because I know something about ships and the weather!" Nami said.

"Oh yeah!" Luffy said.

"We better hang on tight, because here it comes-" Usopp started to say when a blast of cold air stopped him.

The ship started to rock furiously.

"Hang on to anything that is connected to the ship!" Zoro shouted.

"What Zoro?" Luffy shouted back. The wind was making it hard for anyone to hear him.

"I said hang on to something!" Zoro shouted harder.

"I can't hear you! Let me come closer to you!" Luffy said. Nami heard all of this.

A few minutes later, she heard a scream.

"My hat!" Luffy yelled.

"Luffy!" Zoro yelled. Nami heard no more.

"Luffy! Zoro!" Nami screamed. She then saw the blond-haired man running to the side of the caravel. "Sanji!"

"They fell overboard!" Sanji said. "I'm going to help Zoro rescue Luffy!" At that, Nami saw Sanji jump overboard.

"Sanji!" Nami yelled. She then saw Usopp holding onto the cannon. "Usopp! Don't follow him!"

"You think I'm going to go too?" Usopp said. Nami had to shield her eyes from the sprays of water that was being tossed at her from the ocean below.

"Sanji! Zoro! Luffy! LUFFY!" Nami shouted to no avail.

"The ship is shaking all over!" Usopp shouted. "We got to keep this ship from capsizing!"

"Do you see land?" Nami yelled. If he didn't, Nami knew that their chances of surviving this storm were zero.

"I-I don't know" Usopp said. Nami saw that he had his goggles on. "Wait! I do see something! It's land!"

"Land?" Nami asked. "Is it an island or a part of the mainland?"

"I think it's an island!" Usopp replied.

"Can you use the rudder to steer the ship toward it?" Nami questioned.

"I'll try!" Usopp said.

"DO IT!" Nami commanded. She saw Usopp go inside. 'Stay strong, Nami,' she thought. She then fell on the deck. The ship was changing direction!

"I got the rudder going!" Usopp shouted. "Nami, are you okay?"

"I think so," Nami replied. She got up. "Usopp, tell me where the ship is heading?"

"It's heading straight for the island, but the wind isn't dying down!" Usopp shouted.

"The sails has probably been torn to shreds by now!" Nami yelled. "We got to be careful or this ship might go in pieces!"

"We're getting very close to the shore!" Usopp said. "But the ship's rocking a lot!"

"Drop anchor now!" Nami said. "We'll swim to the shore!"

"But I can't-" Usopp started to say.

"Just go atop of me!" Nami shouted. "We have to drop anchor NOW!"

"I know, I know," Usopp said. He then went to the side of the boat where the anchor was. The ship then rocked violently. Usopp let out a yelp.

"Are you alright, Usopp?" Nami shouted.

"We're going to crash!" Usopp yelled.

"What are you talking-" Nami started to say when she heard a thud. She then fell and rolled to the side of the ship. She thought she heard Usopp call her name, but blacked out before she could reply.

"Nami!"

Luffy's voice caused Nami to open her eyes in shock.

"Luffy!" Nami said.

"That's me!" Luffy's voice caused Nami to open her eyes wide. No doubt about it- she saw her captain smiling back at her. She then saw Zoro smiling at her too.

"We thought you were a goner!" Zoro said.

"Luffy! Zoro!" Nami said. "I thought you guys went overboard!"

"We did," Zoro said. "Thank goodness that the ladder got unraveled, or Luffy might have gone to the bottom of the sea!"

"So you guys were hanging onto the ladder all this time?" Nami said. She then breathed a sigh of relief. She then realized something. "But where's Sanji?"

"I think we lost him," Luffy said, looking around.

"What!" Nami said.

"We should find him," Luffy said. "He's our cook." Nami then got up.

"But how are we going to do that?" Nami questioned. "You can't swim, and our ship is wrecked!"

"But he's our cook, and we have to find him!" Luffy said. "Maybe he'll wash up on the shore!"

"Luffy, he'll have to be dead by then," Nami said.

"Poor Sanji," Usopp said, crying. "I only knew him for a short time, but I already missed him."

"Maybe we better look for someone else," Nami said.

"NO! If Sanji's alive, he is coming with us!" Luffy said.

"Do you see him anywhere!" Nami asked him.

"That is why we need to find him!" Luffy said. Zoro started to walk toward some greenery.

"I'm not going into the ocean by myself!" Nami said.

"You can take the ship-" Luffy started to say.

"I told you our ship is wrecked!" Nami said. Zoro started to look through the greenery with one of his swords.

"Well, if isn't Sanji!" Zoro said. That made everyone else look at him.

"Sanji's alive?" Nami said. Everyone, including Usopp, came to the spot where Zoro was looking down. They all saw Sanji there, chewing a twig.

"Sanji!" Luffy said. He took a closer look at him. "There's something different about you."

"Yeah, like why are you chewing a twig?" Usopp asked.

"Oh yeah, your cigarette's gone!" Zoro said.

"My cigarette's gone!" Sanji said. He then stood up. "MY CIGARETTE'S GONE! AHHHHH!" He then ran toward the trees and out of sight.

No one said another word until a few minutes later.

"Well, I guess he's okay, if you don't take account his nicotine withdrawal symptoms," Nami said.

"Find us some food, while you're at it, Sanji!" Luffy yelled.

"I seriously doubt that he is listening to you right now," Nami said.

"But we need food!" Luffy said. Usopp and Zoro started to look around the place.

"Are we on a deserted island?" Usopp asked him.

"I don't see anyone else, but us here" Zoro said. "This island may not be inhabited."

"Oh, I hope we don't end up being like Gaimon," Usopp said. Nami shuddered at the thought of being stranded on an island for years.

"Don't worry, guys! A ship will come along, and they'll help us!" Luffy said.

"You forgot one thing," Nami said. "You guys are pirates!"

"Oh yeah!" Luffy said. He then looked at Nami. "Wait a minute! You're a pirate too!"

"I'm just a navigator," Nami said with her arms folded.

"You're the navigator of a pirate ship!" Luffy said.

"Don't rub it in, Luffy," Nami said. Just then they heard footsteps coming from the direction of the trees.

"Is it Sanji?" Luffy asked Zoro.

"Yeah, and he brought a girl with him," Zoro said, looking ahead of himself.

"He what!" Luffy, Nami and Usopp all said in disbelief.

End of Chapter Two

Thank you so much for waiting! I had to update my other stories that were of higher priority. Since this is my first One Piece story, I hope I'm doing good so far. So who is this girl? Is she going to be a friend or foe? If the latter will the Straw Hat crew be able to stop her? And will Sanji ever get another cigarette? One Piece was created by Eiichiro Oda and distributed by Toei Animation. Please do not forget to review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three of "Last Resort" by Melinda-chan**

"You mean a real girl?" Usopp asked Zoro.

"I assume it's a girl," Zoro said. "This is Sanji we're speaking, after all."

'It figures,' Nami thought. She then saw the girl herself.

It was indeed a young woman. She had long, purple hair, and wore a black jacket and a purple shirt and a short purple skirt (to match her hair, perhaps?). There was nothing on her feet.

"Hello there. May I ask your name?" Nami questioned her.

"That's what I want to say to you!" the woman said. She then turned to Sanji. "I asked him the same thing, but all he ask is for a cigarette!"

"Are you sure you don't have any?" Sanji asked the woman, causing her to look away in disgust.

"If you're that desperate for one, why don't you go to the northwest? There might be a place there that can help you!" the woman suggested.

"Okay, lady! Thanks! Bye!" Sanji said. He then ran off. Once he was gone, the woman sighed.

"I felt like a rake at autumn time!" the woman said out loud. "He just wouldn't leave me alone!"

"That's not unusual for him," Zoro said.

"Yeah, he usually makes a pass at every pretty woman he sees" Nami said.

"I feel so much better now," the woman said in obvious sarcasm.

"You still haven't told me your name!" Nami said. "Do you mind telling us your name?"

"That's kind of rude, don't you think?" the woman said. "Aren't you suppose to tell me your name before asking for my name? At least that's the rule where I come from."

"Oh I'm sorry," Nami said, scratching the back of her head. "I'm just surprised to find someone else here!"

"I have to admit that I didn't expect anyone else to wash up here too," the purple-haired woman said. She then smiled. "I guess we're all civilized people here! Alright! Call me Lilah!"

"I'm Nami!" Nami said.

"I'm Luffy!" Luffy said.

"I'm Roronoa Zoro," Zoro said.

"You are, huh?" Lilah said. "Who is he?" She then pointed to Usopp.

"I'm Usopp," he said.

"The other guy you met was Sanji," Nami said.

"He's our new cook!" Luffy said.

"So where is the rest of your crew?" Lilah asked them.

"That's all," Luffy said. "Well, we're planning to get a musician, and oh yeah, a doctor!"

"What are you planning to do, anyway?" Lilah questioned. "What is your purpose for going out at sea?"

"We're pirates," Luffy said. That caused Nami, Usopp and Zoro to look at him with demon faces.

"LUFFY!" they all said.

"You're all pirates, I see," Lilah said. "You sure don't look like pirates, well, except for him." She then pointed at Zoro.

"I'm just the navigator," Nami said.

"I'm the swordsman," Zoro said.

"I'm the sharpshooter," Usopp said.

"I'm the captain," Luffy said.

"Luffy already told you that Sanji's our cook," Nami said.

"So what is the reason for you being here?" Zoro asked. "What do you do?"

"I'm a treasure hunter," Lilah said.

"You mean you look for treasure too?" Luffy said. Now Lilah had a demon face.

"I'm a treasure hunter, not a pirate!" Lilah said. "I don't steal from other people!"

"Is there any treasure here?" Luffy asked her.

"Why would I tell you that?" Lilah asked him.

"So if you're not here to hunt for treasure, why are you here for?" Nami asked.

"I was on my way to Logue Town, when I got caught up in a storm. I managed to land on this island, but I'm now just waiting until the weather clears up and I can get my boat fixed" Lilah said.

"We need to get our own boat fixed too," Nami said. "Do you know where we could get good wood?"

"Why don't you guys just rest for the night?" Lilah said. "Until the weather clears up, there's really nothing else that you can do anyway."

"You have a point," Nami said. "Our boat's heavily damaged, so going out back to a stormy sea like that is foolish."

"You should make camp inland," Lilah told them. "The waves could get rough overnight."

"We have to get all our supplies from our ship then" Usopp said.

"But where are we going to stay?" Luffy questioned. "This is the first time we spent overnight on a deserted island."

"You can spend the night with me," Lilah said. "I mean where I'm staying." She then turned to Zoro. "Though you're welcome to spend the night with me, if you know what I mean."

"Uh, no thanks," Zoro said. Lilah turned sad but then turned to Nami.

"My camp is at the northeast. I'll put on a fire so you can find me," Lilah said.

"Thanks! See you later then!" Nami said. Lilah gave her a hand wave before going off.

"I still don't see the difference between a treasure hunter and a pirate," Luffy said.

"Treasure hunters don't appear on most wanted lists," Zoro said.

"Oh yeah?" Luffy said.

"Pirates rob people," Nami said. "Treasure hunters generally try to find treasure without robbing ships or people."

"You rob people too, Nami" Luffy said.

"I rob pirates!" Nami said in protest.

"Would you guys stop it?" Zoro said. "We have to see what remains of our ship, or at least what we can salvage from it!"

"Are you alright, Zoro?" Usopp said. "You sound testy."

"I am testy," Zoro said. "It's almost dark. We should just go to the ship, take what we can, and then try to find Lilah again."

"Then let's go!" Luffy said. So they went to where the caravel still was.

It was not a pretty sight, to say the least.

The Go Merry, which had already suffered a few attacks from men, couldn't withstand a natural storm without it broken in a few pieces over the ship. Usopp went down on his knees and sobbed.

"How can I go back to Kaya with the ship like this?" Usopp cried.

"My fruit trees!" Nami yelled.

"The ship is totally ruined!" Zoro said.

"There must be something from the ship we can get" Luffy said. He then put his right arm on the ground. "Gum…Gum…Rocket!" At that, he shot up in the air and landed on the deck.

"Go and check on my trees, will you?" Nami said.

"Sure thing!" Luffy said. He then went up the upper deck, where Nami grew her citrus trees.

"How are they are, Luffy? Is there any fruit left- ahhhhh!" Nami had to stop to avoid being hit by the throwing fruit. "Luffy! I didn't ask you to throw them at me!"

"Sorry Nami," Luffy said. "But that's all the fruit I could get. The others don't look so good." Nami sighed. Usopp picked up a fruit and started washing it with the water from the ocean.

"I better go to the kitchen," Luffy said. "I hope the rest of our food hasn't gone bad."

"Our food has gone bad?" a familiar voice caused everyone to look back. It was Sanji, having a new cigarette in his mouth.

"Sanji!" Luffy said, smiling.

"Sanji, we're so glad that you're back!" Zoro said. Usopp was now eating the fruit, so he couldn't talk.

"Sanji, where did you get that cigarette?" Nami asked him. He took a puff out of his cigarette.

"I got it when I went up the northeast like the lady said to," Sanji said. "When I did, I saw a wrecked boat. That's where I got my cigarettes."

"Wrecked boat?" Nami said. "Did you see anything else?"

"I can show it to you" Sanji said. "But it's not a pretty sight."

"I went to the northwest like the lady said to," Sanji said leading the way. "I thought I'll never see another cigarette again when I stumbled into this-" Sanji then separated some tree branches.

Everyone gasped.

"You told us there was a wrecked boat, not a massacre!" Nami said.

The ground was covered with swords, guns and blood. A bunch of mounds could be seen. The boat, of course, was wrecked, but it looked like the damage was made more by man than by any storm.

"It looks like a major fight occurred," Usopp said.

"Who on earth were they fighting against?" Zoro questioned.

"We only saw Lilah so far on this island," Usopp said. "You don't think she could-"

"No way!" Luffy said. "I mean, this looked like it was caused by a whole bunch of people, not just a single girl!"

"Something has been bugging me ever since she told us she was a treasure hunter," Zoro said. "Treasure hunters don't go out alone so if there is only one of her, where's the rest of her team?"

"Maybe they got washed away by the storm?" Usopp suggested.

"Now that you mention it, she didn't say anyone else was with her" Nami said.

"A pirate needs a crew, so do treasure hunters need a crew too?" Luffy asked Zoro.

"Not necessarily," Zoro said. "But even if someone knows where the treasure is, manpower would be needed to dig up the treasure plus a few guards to keep watch. Treasure hunting may be legal, but it's still a dangerous job, and even your own men can kill you if you're not careful. A woman by herself out in the sea, it doesn't seem right."

"Why not? I have done it a few times," Nami said. "Still I acknowledge it is strange for a treasure hunter to be alone."

"But she told us that she was going to another town, so she probably don't need a crew right now" Luffy said.

"That's true," Usopp said. Sanji just stood there, smoking his cigarette but thinking too.

"Anyway, we better go now. It looks like whoever killed them also buried them, so there's nothing else we can do," Nami said.

"Just be careful," Zoro said. "Whoever did this could still be on the island." At that, everybody nodded and started walking away. Luffy looked back. There appeared to be twelve mounds total- enough for a full pirate crew.

"Luffy! Are you coming or not?" Nami yelled.

"I'm coming, Nami!" Luffy said. He then raced after the group. Because of the smoke signal, it wasn't long before they managed to find Lilah.

"We found Sanji! Sorry it took so long!" Nami said as they approached the fire.

"I have been having the fire going for almost an hour!" Lilah exclaimed. "Where have you guys been?" After a hasty response from Nami, they all settled down for the night.

"And thus, the pirate ghost stayed over the treasure spot, until the ship came back, which of course it never did. But he waited…and waited… and waited, until someone would find the treasure and set his spirit free…" Lilah said. "And that's the end of that." They were all around a campfire as Lilah weaved her tale. Everyone listened intensely to her story, though Usopp looked scared the most.

"And that's it?" Luffy said. "Nothing else happens?"

"Well, yeah" Lilah said. "I mean, he's a ghost. So what else can he do?"

"I guess you got a point," Luffy said. "But you don't need to be a ghost to protect treasure." He then turned to Nami. "Like Gaimon. Right, Nami?"

"Mmm-hmm," Nami said. At that, Zoro got up and stretched his arms.

"I hate to say this but I want to go to bed" Zoro said. "We had a rough day, and we have to repair our ship tomorrow."

"That's right," Nami said. "We got lots of work to do tomorrow." Luffy then yawned and stretched his own arms to a reasonable length.

"As long as there's clean food and water, we should be okay," Sanji said.

"All right then!" Luffy said, getting up. "We'll fix our ship and head back to the Grand Line!"

"Good riddance," Usopp said. "I just hope that we don't get another storm like that!"

"You probably will" Lilah said. "The Grand Line is a place where the most unpredictable things can occur."

"We can't worry about that now," Luffy said. "Let's go to bed." So they started going into their blankets.

"There is no pirate ghost on this island, right?" Usopp asked Lilah as they went down to sleep.

"Yes. Now go to sleep" Lilah said. Eventually everyone but her fell asleep.

Lilah now went to her tent and pulled out a large, curved sword. She then went out of her tent and positioned her sword right above Zoro's chest. After looking at it for a few seconds at that spot, she went back to her tent for the night.

End of Chapter Three

I must apologize for the delay. Since this story is slated for six or seven chapters and I'm already halfway through, I didn't feel that it would be a big deal. Anyway, I'm sure that all of you are wondering about Lilah and what will happen to the Straw Hat crew. Are they really safe with her? If not, how will they defeat her? What about the wrecked pirate ship Luffy and his teammates saw? Are there any other secrets on the island? Will the Straw Hat crew ever leave the island with their ship? Read and find out! One Piece was created by Eiichiro Oda and distributed by Toei Animation. Don't forget to review!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four of "Last Resort" by Melinda-chan**

"Gum…Gum…Hammer!" Luffy's voice and a tree falling down awoke Nami from her sleep. It was still early morning, as far as Nami could tell. She then removed the blanket from herself.

"Luffy, what are you doing?" Nami asked while rubbing her eyes. She then saw that he and Zoro were carrying the tree near the fire.

"Getting wood!" Luffy yelled back. "We need it for the fire!" Nami then got up.

"Good morning Nami" Sanji said, his back toward her. "Are you hungry yet?"

"What are you doing, Sanji?" Nami asked, walking to him.

"What I always do every morning," Sanji said. "Cook breakfast." Nami looked at the fire and was surprised to see him boiling eggs in a pot over it.

"Where did you get that pot?" Nami asked.

"I got it from our ship" Sanji said. "But I got these eggs from Lilah."

"Lilah…oh the woman!" Nami said. "Where is she?"

"Looking for more food," Sanji said. He then lifted up the lid and tapped the eggs with his fork. He then looked at Luffy, who was chopping the tree with help from Zoro.

"Luffy! Zoro! The eggs are ready!" Sanji yelled.

"Oh good!" Luffy said. He then plopped himself next to Sanji. Zoro sat down next to him. Nami then went down beside him.

"I'll put them in this bowl of water to stop them from further cooking," Sanji said. He then used an egg ladle to scoop up the eggs and put them in the bowl. "Once they're cool enough to be picked up, we can eat them." Luffy put up his hands.

"Hurray!" Luffy said. "Let's eat now!"

"Wait! He said-" Nami started to say when she saw Luffy grab an egg and swallowed it whole.

"LUFFY!" everyone yelled.

"What? I'm hungry!" Luffy said.

"I know that egg shells aren't poisonous, but still…" Sanji said in disbelief.

"How many eggs are there, Sanji?" Lilah's voice sounded. "I hope I can have a few."

"Of course you can, sweetie," Sanji said. "Did you found some food too?"

"Only fruit," Lilah said. "I saw some mushrooms, but I didn't know what type they were so I left them alone." Sanji then stood up.

"I may know what they are," Sanji said. "You were smart not to try them yourself. I'm a chef, so let me see them before you pick them."

"I know where they are," Lilah said.

"Let's go then," Sanji said. "I could show you some of my best ways to make mushrooms, if you know what I mean."

"I think I'll pass on that one," Lilah said.

"Be careful around him, Lilah," Nami warned. "He might try to get his hands into more than your basket."

"Warning heeded," Lilah said. She then looked at Sanji. "We better do this quickly. There's something I want to show all of you."

"Oh?" Sanji said. They then walked off. Nami turned to the rest of the group.

"How did all of your nights go?" Nami questioned.

"I dreamed that I had lots of food," Luffy replied. "And gold too."

"I thought you would've dreamed of that by now" Usopp said, who just arrived at the campfire.

"I do, but we don't have any right now," Luffy said. "So I dreamed I had lots more!"

"It figures" Usopp said.

"I had a dream that someone held a sword above me," Zoro said. This shocked everyone.

"What did you do?" Nami asked.

"The person didn't strike me, so I did nothing," Zoro replied. "If the person did, I would have reacted."

'Did it really happen?' Nami wondered to herself.

"We should start looking for some wood for our ship!" Usopp said. "We can at least repair our ship while we wait for better weather."

"We can use that ship we found yesterday for our wood" Luffy suggested.

"Maybe, but the wood is likely in bad shape or have been rotted from the storm," Nami said.

"But there's still good wood in the trees, right?" Luffy said.

"I'm not sure we can just go yet even if we did fix the ship," Zoro said. "Something about that girl still bothers me."

"How so?" Luffy asked.

"Her story seems believable, but even if she's a treasure hunter, she knows that we're pirates," Zoro said. "She could simply turn us in and collect our bounty."

"That's right," Usopp said. "Why search for treasure when she can get money from turning us in?"

"She could be a nuisance," Nami nodded.

"So what should we do?" Luffy asked him. Zoro got out one of his swords.

"I don't know, but I'm holding one of my swords in my hand all the time just in case," Zoro said.

"That's a great idea," Lilah's voice called out. "You do that, Roronoa Zoro." At that, Zoro stood up, pointing the sword right in her direction.

"Didn't you forget I was with her, Zoro?" Sanji's voice spoke out. He and Lilah then appeared. "Though I'll not approve you of fighting a lady if you can help it."

"What do you want from us?" Zoro asked.

"Wait a minute, Zoro!" Sanji said.

"What I want is some help," Lilah said. "I think I found some treasure."

"Treasure?" At that word, Luffy was drawn in. "You think you found some treasure?"

"The tunnels are certainly man-made," Lilah said. "So there is a possibility that the tunnels may have been used to bury something really important."

"Do you know what may have been buried there?" Nami asked. Zoro still had his sword at Lilah.

"I'm not sure, but I did found a few coins nearby the site," Lilah said. She then took out a few coins from her right pocket. "You're pirates. So ya should know what these are."

"We sure do!" Luffy said, taking one from her hand. "It's real gold!"

"Yes, I think she knows that" Nami said. "Let me see." Lilah then handed her a coin.

"Oh! An eight-piece!" Nami said.

"An eight-piece?" Luffy asked her.

"An old coin," Nami replied. "It was used around five hundred years ago. It has to be very valuable by now."

"I can't believe it! We may have found a treasure chest!" Usopp said, looking closely at it.

"Why don't we go to the site now?" Luffy said. Everybody agreed, so after packing a few things, they all went to the site. They were amazed by what they saw.

"It looks like this place has been all dug up!" Luffy said, stating the obvious.

"I can see why you think something important was buried here!" Sanji said to Lilah.

"Actually, I was the one that made some of these holes," Lilah said. She then walked to a big hole. "This is where I dug the most." She then pointed at the hole. "I call it the Money Pit."

"Wow! Does it have real money in it?" Luffy said.

"She means it may be the one that has the treasure," Nami answered.

"I thought it means a project that just end up wasting money," Usopp said. "Like throwing money in a bottomless pit." Lilah was getting annoyed.

"Maybe that's how the term got to be used," Nami said.

"I never thought of that," Usopp said.

"Are you saying that there might not be anything?" Luffy inquired. Lilah looked like she was going to lose it.

"We didn't say that, we just said that it's likely this could be a real money pit, a waste of time," Nami said.

"But if it has real money in it-" Luffy started to say. "I mean she did show us a rare coin."

"It is distant from the mainland," Zoro said. "A perfect haven for pirates or smugglers."

"The least we could do is find out," Sanji said. "I can't see how this could be a trap." At that, Lilah turned around and smiled at them.

"Yes, so all I need are a few strong men, and we can dig up whatever was put there!" Lilah said.

"Do you got shovels?" Nami inquired.

"I don't think shovels would do," Lilah said. "I think we need is a big-ass drill."

"We don't have a big-ass drill," Nami said. "Though we do have a couple of strong men."

"You're not including me, are you?" Usopp asked.

"I can dig as long as something's in there," Luffy said.

"I managed to dig ten metres down before I hit something" Lilah said.

"You couldn't pull it out?" Zoro said.

"It was a board of planks!" Lilah said.

"Was there anything underneath?" Luffy questioned.

"Yeah" Lilah said. "Another ten metres."

"How long does it go down?" Usopp asked, shocked.

"I don't know" Lilah replied. "When I dug even deeper, I came across another set of planks. And you can guess what I found when I dug another ten metres."

"Another set of planks?" Nami said. Lilah then nodded.

"That just means that there's must be something very important down there!" Luffy said. "We just have to dig until we can get at it!"

"I got shovels if that helps" Lilah said.

"So do we," Nami said. Lilah then looked at Sanji.

"I'm afraid that Mr. Smokey here wouldn't be able to go," Lilah said. "That cigarette could snuff all of the oxygen out of the hole."

"That's all right," Sanji said. "I'm just the cook anyway."

"Well, if that's the case, why don't you go and get something for us all to eat? I'm not a great cook, but I'm sure that you can find something edible in the woods," Lilah said.

"I'll try" Sanji said. "Don't worry about it! I'll prepare everyone a great meal!"

"We'll be hungry afterwards, that's for sure!" Luffy said.

"You'll smell it before you see it!" Sanji promised. He then left for the camp. Lilah pulled out a couple of shovels from the ground and gave them to Luffy and Zoro.

"Here you go!" Lilah said. "Now go and dig!"

"Okie-dokie!" Luffy said.

"Tell us when you find something!" Lilah shouted as Luffy and Zoro went to work in the hole. She then turned to Usopp. "Why don't you get us a pitcher of water to drink?"

"You got a pitcher of water?" Usopp questioned.

"I got one at my tent," Lilah replied. "If you could get it, we all could get a fresh drink!"

"Well, if there's nothing else to do, I suppose that I could do that," Usopp said. "It's better than just waiting."

"That's a good boy," Lilah said. "If you can do that, you can have a drink too!"

"I hope so," Usopp said. He then left, leaving the girls by themselves.

"So tell me, Nami," Lilah said. "What's a girl like you doing with a pirate crew?"

"Trust me, if it weren't for me, they would be totally lost," Nami said. "Not to mention sick. I was originally planning to steal from them, but those boys aren't like most pirates."

"I can see that," Lilah said. She then smiled. "You know, we sea-faring ladies are a rare breed to go by our lonesome selves. You must got a free spirit!"

"I don't mind," Nami said. "I also owe them for freeing my village from a nasty pirate crew. The least I could do is help them achieve their own dreams."

"You know, with your knowledge of the sea and pirates, you could be of use to the Navy or the Marines," Lilah said.

"I'm a thief!" Nami said. "I don't think they would hire me!" 'Why is she bringing this up?' Nami thought.

"You only steal from pirates, right?" Lilah said. "I'm sure that the Navy would overlook that. You can even be a bounty hunter."

"A woman bounty hunter?" Nami said. "You mean to say that a woman can be a bounty hunter?"

"Why not? I bet that no one would suspect a thing if you were a bounty hunter, being a woman and all," Lilah said.

"I don't think so," Nami said. "I think it's easier to hunt treasure than to hunt people."

"Whatever you say," Lilah said.

'Why did she say all of that for?' Nami thought. 'Don't tell me she's a-'

"Hey! I found another board of planks!" Luffy yelled from the hole.

"Lilah! How far down is it?" Zoro shouted up.

"How am I suppose to know?" Lilah responded. "The wood should be rotten enough for you to go through!"

"Hey! I found another set of planks, and they feel a bit wet!" Luffy shouted.

"Luffy, don't-" Zoro started to say when a gush of water was heard. They both screamed.

"LUFFY! ZORO!" Nami yelled. She then went to the hole. All of a sudden a soaking wet Luffy came out, along with a drenched Zoro.

"Luffy! Zoro! What happened?" Nami asked.

"Water came up!" Luffy explained. "And it came up really fast! I thought I was going to drown!"

"I almost did drown thanks to you!" Zoro said. "Why did you push me down with your feet?"

"I was only thinking of the water!" Luffy said. "I didn't mean to try to drown you!"

"It's okay now," Zoro said, twisting the end of his shirt. Water poured out of it. He then looked at Lilah. "You didn't know about the water, did you?"

"You were digging down deep in the ground," Lilah said. "And we are surrounded by water, so if you dig deep enough, you would hit water."

"That makes sense," Luffy said. "I guess we can't just dig to the treasure."

"What we need are some scuba gear," Lilah said. "And a big-ass water pump." She then paused. "Both of which I don't have." At that, Zoro slumped onto the ground.

"I've had it," Zoro said. "There's no way that we can get what's down there now that the tunnel's flooded." Luffy looked sad all of a sudden.

"Don't worry, Luffy" Nami said. "I'm just glad that you guys managed to make it out in time."

"Hey Usopp!" Lilah yelled out. "I said to get some water, not bath in it! Where the hell are ya?"

"You don't suppose that he had to get water from our ship?" Luffy said.

"I got a big jug," Lilah said. "He doesn't have trouble holding stuff like that, does he?"

"Depends on how big it is" Zoro answered. Just then, Usopp did arrive. He had the big jar of water in both of his hands.

"I'm sorry that it took so long!" Usopp said. "I had to help Sanji and this jug is heavy!"

"It looked like you helped with the water as well!" Lilah said, not looking pleased. "I swore that my jug had more water than this!"

"You think I could carry all that water by myself?" Usopp said. "Besides, Sanji needed clean water for his cooking!"

"Is it lunchtime already?" Luffy asked him.

"Not yet," Usopp replied. "But you guys look like you need some food!"

"That's right! I'm hungry!" Luffy said. Usopp put down the pitcher.

"So why don't we all have a nice drink?" Usopp suggested.

"Where's the cups then?" Luffy asked. Usopp slapped himself on the head.

"I knew that I was missing something!" Usopp said. "I'll go back and get some!" At that, he started to run off.

"If you meet Sanji, tell him to hurry up on the food!" Lilah yelled.

"Will do!" Usopp said. He then ran off. It was ten minutes later when Usopp returned with the cups that they were finally able to drink the water.

"So you think it was a water trap?" Sanji asked. Everyone was now around the campfire. They had vegetable soup and boiled rice in their bowls. A keg of ale was beside Zoro.


	5. Chapter 5

****

Chapter Five of "Last Resort" by Melinda-chan

"Where's Zoro?" Luffy's voice caused Nami to get up from her blanket and looked around. Even Sanji wasn't at the campfire.

"Where's Sanji?" Nami asked.

"Oh good morning Nami!" Luffy said, running to her. "Zoro is gone! Sanji and Usopp are searching for him too!"

"He left us?" Nami said in disbelief.

"I don't think so!" Luffy said. "He wouldn't just abandon us! Something must've happened to him!"

Nami was going to say something like "Yeah right!" but she knew that anything could happen on an almost deserted island.

"Were there any clues?" Nami asked.

"He didn't leave a note or anything like that," Luffy replied. This started Nami thinking.

"Do you have any idea where he may have gone?" Nami asked.

"Nope" Luffy answered. "But we did see his footprints around Lilah's tent, but they then disappeared."

Nami at first was perplexed. Why would he go to her tent for? She then remembered how he was feeling the day before. He didn't-

"Luffy, is Lilah up yet?" Nami then asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen her since last night," Luffy replied. "Do you want me to go to her tent and-"

"Oh no!" Nami replied. "That's all right! Do you know what time it is?"

"I don't think it's noon yet," Luffy said. Nami then looked at Lilah's tent.

"We were hoping to pump some of the water out from the money hole, but if we can't find Zoro, we can't leave the island!" Luffy said.

"I'm sure that he's alright," Nami said though she didn't sound as confident as she hoped. Just then, Sanji and Usopp appeared.

"He's not at the Money Pit either!" Usopp said. "I'm running out of places to go to!"

"You don't suppose that he went to the wrecked pirate ship, do you?" Luffy suggested.

"Why would he do that in the middle of the night?" Usopp asked.

"I don't know" Luffy said. He then threw up his arms in the air. "We searched everywhere and we still can't find him! The only thing clue we have are his footprints around Lilah's tent!"

"Whose footprints were around my tent?" Lilah's voice caused everyone to look at her.

"Oh hello Lilah!" Luffy said. "We're trying to find Zoro, but we can't find him anywhere!"

"He went missing?" Lilah said. "I didn't see him since I left to see my boat!"

"You're planning to leave today too?" Nami asked.

"I got things to do," Lilah said. "In fact, I'm a few days behind schedule already."

"You can go, but we still have to find Zoro," Nami said.

"Don't worry about it" Lilah said. "Is this normal for him to do this?"

"He's independent, but he wouldn't go off on his own unless he has to," Nami replied.

"In any case, I'm hungry" Lilah said. She then looked at Sanji. "You're the cook, right? Make a meal for me! I reckon it's around noon so I need a big one!"

"Aye, aye," Sanji said. "I guess if we can't find him, we might as well eat lunch. Maybe the smell of food will wake him up or make him find us." Hence, the crew minus Zoro prepared for lunch as Lilah went away to look for more wood.

"So are you going to try to pump out the water from the money hole?" Lilah asked. Luffy looked up from his dish of fish and tubers.

"I do want to pump out the water but if Zoro comes back, he might not know where we went" Luffy said.

"I can stay back if you want…" Sanji suggested.

"No! We need you in case we need to eat" Lilah said. "I have a feeling this may take all day and I don't want you to go back and forth trying to feed all of us."

"I see," Sanji said. "I'll have to get all of the cooking utensils with us if we do go."

"Nami, why don't you stay here?" Lilah suggested. "I don't have any plans for you."

"Alright," Nami said. "If Zoro did come back, someone would need to tell him what's going on."

"We need to get both water pumps from our ship and that wrecked pirate ship we saw then" Usopp said. After they all had eaten and cleaned up, everyone but Nami went off.

'I hope that they would be able to get the pumps' Nami thought. 'I don't know if our pump can be taken off the ship.' She then saw a figure walking toward her. She stood up as fast as she could.

"Who's there?" Nami yelled. She then saw who it was. "Zoro!"

"My neck wouldn't stop hurting me!" Zoro groaned. He then saw Nami. "Nami! Where did everyone else go?"

"Lilah took them to the Money Pit," Nami explained. "They had to get the water pumps from the ships first."

"A water pump?" Zoro asked. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Nami answered. "I think they are planning to pump out all the excess water from the Money Pit." She then looked at him suspiciously. "How come you're up so late?"

"I slept in a very uncomfortable place," Zoro said.

"Where?" Nami asked. Zoro now felt a bit more uncomfortable.

"If I told you, would you keep it a secret?" Zoro asked.

"Where were you?" Nami questioned. Zoro then told her.

The slap was so hard that it could be heard a mile away.

"You pervert!" Nami shouted. Zoro now had a red hand mark on his face.

"I didn't go in there to snoop on her!" Zoro said. "I went to her tent to found out who she really is!"

"Oh?" Nami said. "What did you found out?"

"It has been nagging me since I heard her name," Zoro explained. They were now walking to her tent. "It was then when I was trying to fall asleep when it hit me."

"You've heard of her?" Nami questioned.

"I knew she resembled a woman I've met before," Zoro said. "But I couldn't figure out her name or where I saw her. She couldn't be a crook, because she would've killed me by now."

"So you think she could be-" Nami started to say.

"Someone I once worked with, yeah" Zoro said. "But I still don't know who she is." Nami then remembered the conversation she had with her the day before.

"Zoro, we need to get to her tent!" Nami said.

"You think that she's hiding something from us?" Zoro asked.

"I have the suspicion that, yes, she's simply not a treasure hunter!" Nami said. They then ran to the tent.

"Or at least not one that hunts jewels!" Zoro said. They then opened the flap of the tent and entered in it.

"We should see a black book on the table," Zoro said. They then looked at the table where the black book was.

"That must be it!" Nami said. Zoro then picked it up. "What's in it?" He then opened the book.

"Nami, we're in real danger!" Zoro said. He then shut it. "We got to reach the others and warned them of her before she does anything!"

"But she's with them!" Nami said.

"Then we better hurry! You said that they went to the Money Pit?" Zoro asked.

"They went to the ship for the pump first, but I'm sure that they would be at the pit by now," Nami said.

"Then let's get moving!" Zoro said. Still holding the book, he and Nami ran out of the tent. "You don't suppose that you know where it is?" Nami slapped herself on her head.

In the meantime, Lilah, Luffy, Sanji and Usopp had removed the water pump from the Merry Go, and were now at the Money Pit. However, there was one major problem…

"How do we get the pump into the pit?" Luffy asked.

"I suppose that we got to get into the hole first," Lilah said.

"We don't got a tube long enough to do that!" Usopp said.

"We can dig a hole next to it just deep enough," Lilah said. "We can put down some planks down so that you can put the pump down. We can then use buckets to get rid of the excess water."

"If we do that, we need to get a couple of shovels," Sanji said.

"That's no problem," Lilah said. She then took a shovel out of the ground. "Here you go." She then handed it to Usopp.

"Why me?" Usopp asked.

"You need to work" Lilah said. "I want you to dig a hole about three metres deep, so we can put the pump on it."

"I know, but why do I have to dig the hole?" Usopp asked.

"Because I need Luffy for the pump and Sanji is the cook," Lilah replied. "You don't see anybody else here, do you?"

"I see you," Usopp said.

"I'm a woman!" Lilah said. "You can probably dig that hole faster than I can! Now do it!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Usopp said, still a bit annoyed.

"Is there anything I can do?" Sanji asked.

"You can get Nami" Lilah said. "I may need more buckets so get some more too."

"Right," Sanji said. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He then walked away. Lilah then looked at Luffy and Usopp. A smile then appeared on her lips.

In the meantime, Sanji was walking through the woods when he heard a noise. He stopped.

"Are you sure that this is the right way?" Sanji heard Nami's voice. He decided to shout.

"NAMI!" Sanji yelled. He then heard the voices stop.

"I think I heard Sanji," Zoro said.

"I told you that we were nearby," Nami said. "Sanji, where are you?"

"I'm…uh east of you!" Sanji said, hoping that he was correct. In a few minutes, he saw the two walking at his direction.

"Well, if it isn't Sanji," Zoro said. "Why are you out here?"

"Lilah told me to get you," Sanji told Nami. He then looked at Zoro. "We searched everywhere for you! Where have you been?"

"It's a long story," Zoro said. Sanji looked at them inquisitively.

"So why are you both out here anyway?" Sanji asked. Zoro showed him the black book.

"She's a bounty hunter?" Sanji sounded shocked.

"I now know why I've been feeling a little testy," Zoro said. "I knew her, but she always called herself Del."

"And with us being pirates-" Sanji said.

"There's a good chance that she'll take this opportunity to take us down," Zoro said. "She has a weapon called a swordcutter. It can be lethal."

"A swordcutter?" Nami asked.

"It can't actually cut a sword," Zoro told her. "It's more of a chain and ball but swords are useless against it."

"Which means that you're useless against it," Sanji said.

"I have to reason with her," Zoro said. "But I've no idea if she's on hire or doing it on her own."

"You're not going to fight her?" Nami asked.

"She's only doing her job" Zoro told her. "But if she does get physical, we have to stop her."

"Have you seen her fight?" Nami asked.

"Yes" Zoro replied. "But I was fighting too, so I didn't see everything that she did. I do know that when she does fight, she goes all out. I have to stop her quickly if it comes to that." Nami then thought of something else.

"The wrecked pirate ship that we saw," Nami said. "Do you think that she-"

"Yeah" Zoro said. "We got to go there as fast as we-" All of a sudden a loud scream was heard.

"LUFFY!" Everyone then ran as fast as they could. The scream led them to the direction of the voice.

"LUFFY!" Zoro shouted. Everyone was now where Luffy, Usopp and Lilah were.

Usopp was pulling at Luffy's arms. He was hanging on for dear life as Usopp tried to pull him back up. Lilah was doing absolutely nothing to help them.

"We're coming!" Zoro and Usopp then ran to the Money Pit. Luffy's arms were beginning to stretch. They helped him up onto the platform.

"What happened?" Sanji asked.

"Luffy slipped" Usopp told him.

"What were you doing?" Sanji asked.

"We were trying to take the water out of the hole," Luffy replied. "We think that if we can get enough water out, we can go deeper into the pit."

"Only if the water source isn't from the sea," Sanji said. "Who suggested that idea?"

"Lilah did," Luffy said. Everyone then looked at her.

"Did you really believe that it would work?" Sanji asked her.

"They went along with it, didn't they?" Lilah asked.

"I got her now Sanji," Zoro said. "You don't have to do anything else." He then walked a few steps forward to her. "I found this!" He then threw down her black book on the ground.

"You know who I am then?" Lilah asked.

"Yeah" Zoro said. "We met a few years ago, when I was still learning my former trade. You're Delilah Morgan, bounty hunter."

'Delilah Morgan?' Luffy thought.

'Bounty hunter?' Usopp thought.

'She's really a bounty hunter?!' Sanji thought.

'I thought so!' Nami thought.

"I earned my reputation by playing the innocent girl until I can have their backs," Delilah said. "Most men wouldn't think of a girl being a bounty hunter so it works most of the time."

"Yeah" Zoro said. "But I know that if we allow you to get free, then you might alert the authorities! We may never reach the Grand Line then!" Delilah looked pained.

"Zoro, I know that we only met once, but why on earth did you decide to join a pirate crew?" Delilah said. "You know very well that you could end up hanged at the Navy base as a warning for all of the other bounty hunters. Even if I don't get you, someone else will. Do you really want to suffer such a dishonourable death?"

"As long as I fulfill my promise to a friend, well, two friends-" he then looked at Luffy. "I don't care what happens to me."

"In other words, you have no honour," Delilah said. "Anyone with a little pride wouldn't say something like that. I don't think you all did anything too bad, so I'm willing to let you go if you all get a honest job and quit the pirate business-"

"NO!!" Luffy yelled. "We all got together to find the One Piece and we're going to continue until we find it!"

"How do you know if it even exists?" Delilah asked, turning at him. "Pirates aren't that reliable, and if he was going to die, he might've say something that he would always be known for! That doesn't mean it's true!"

"If he was the greatest pirate ever, then he must've left something great behind!" Luffy argued. "I don't know what it is, but if we don't find it, how do we know that it exists? Besides, there's someone out there that I need to thank!"

"If he's a pirate, how do you know that he's not already dead?" Delilah said.

"What do you mean by that?" Luffy asked. "Are you saying that Red Shanks is dead? I don't believe it!" Zoro then tied his black cloth on his head.

"Forget about her" Zoro said. "She just wants to fight." He then pointed at her with one of his swords. "I know that you're here because of me, so why don't we fight it out now?"

"Thirsty for a challenge, eh?" Lilah asked. "I guess we could fight, though you do know that I'm right."

"I have two vows to fulfill" Zoro said. "And I'll die if I can't fulfill them."

"I suppose that I have no choice," Delilah said. "Look, I don't usually make deals with my victim- unless burial arrangements count- but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Just promise me that none of your teammates butt in, no matter what, until one of us is down. Do you get that?" She then put her right hand in her pocket.

"As you wish," Zoro said. She then pulled out something from her other pocket as well.

"What is that you're holding?" Zoro asked.

"My choice of weapons," Delilah replied. She then swirled a couple of daggers with her fingers.

"This is a friendly fight, I see" Zoro said. "How about another deal? If I win, you leave without telling anyone we've been here. If you win, you can do whatever you want with me and the rest of us. What do you say?"

"Are you nuts?!" Usopp yelled. "If she wins, she could take us all to prison! Or kill us here!"

"I'm not going to kill you all," Delilah said. "I can kill, but I don't think it's necessary in this case."

"You killed those pirates from the ship we saw, didn't you?" Nami asked, realizing that they totally forgot about the wrecked pirate ship.

"Oh that," Delilah said. "I found them when I was looking for anyone else that may be on the island. I didn't want pirates to be here, and they were bit of the unsavoury type, so I played the innocent girl until I got close enough to unleash my deadliest attack." She then pointed one of her knives at Zoro. "Come on. Don't worry. I wouldn't unleash my ultimate attack, at least not yet." Zoro just stood there.

'I guess I got no choice now but to fight her' he thought. He then put one of his swords in his mouth. 'I have to unleash my greatest attack before she can do her own.' He then started to run at her.

"Oni…giri!!!" Zoro yelled as he unleashed his three-sword attack. He then stopped when he realized that he couldn't move his swords. "What?!" He then opened his eyes to see the string from her knives had intertwined with his swords, preventing him from using them.

'What is going on?' Zoro thought. He then looked at his swords. 'Her knives are keeping them together?!'

"There's one great advantage of hunting rogue bounty hunters," Delilah said. "You already know their fighting style. I've seen you fight before, so do you think I wouldn't know what you were planning to do?"

'She knew that I was going to do this?' Zoro thought.

"Now I'll show you one of my greatest moves," Delilah said. She then put all of the strings in one hand and then put her other hand behind her back. "Here it is! Sword Cutter!" She then grabbed her ball and chain and swung it at the green-haired swordsman.

"ZORO!!!!!"

End of Chapter Five

I don't know if anybody's reading this, but the next chapter will be the last chapter. I like to thank all that have reviewed so far. One Piece was crested by Eiichiro Oda and distributed by Toei Animation and Shueisha Inc. The last chapter and author notes will take place next. Don't forget to review!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six of "Last Resort"

"ZORO!"

The voices of all the other Straw Hat pirate crew rose in unison as they watched in shock as the knife from Delilah's weapon hit him in the chest. Blood came pouring out like a fountain.

"Zoro!" Luffy yelled. "You're bleeding!"

"Yeah I know" Zoro said. Delilah then let go of her sword-cutter. More blood came squirting out of him. Nami gasped.

'That's a lot of blood!' Nami thought.

'He's not going to finish this, is he?' Usopp thought.

"You really got lots of guts don't you?" Delilah asked. "I know that you don't have an unlimited blood supply. If you don't want to bleed to death, then stop this right now! Or do you really want to die?"

"I've made two promises," Zoro said. "I cannot die before I can fulfill them."

"You're a stubborn mule I admit," Delilah said. "Or else you've gone insane."

"I can't use my three sword attack," Zoro said. "But I can still use my remaining sword. If only I know how to beat her with it."

"You got a new plan to defeat me now?" Delilah asked. "Or do you plan on giving it up?"

"I don't plan on giving up yet!" Zoro said. He then looked at his remaining sword. "I know what happens to bounty hunters that go astray. But I can't die not yet!" At that he ran toward her with the sword.

"Now I know you're insane!" Delilah said. "Sword-Cutter!" She then swung her weapon at him again. He looked at it with his right eye and ducked.

'He went down!' Delilah thought. 'Now he got room for a counterattack! I got to do something!'

'She was aiming for my head!' Zoro thought. 'If I could get my other two swords, I can get my attack going again. But how do I get that weapon away from her?' He then smiled as an idea came into his head.

"Lilah, I know that we met once in a mission, but I know that you are Delilah Morgan, niece of-" Zoro had to stop to prevent an angry Delilah from hitting him with her sword-cutter again.

"You say one more word," Delilah growled. "And you'll be lucky if your head is the only thing that I cut off."

'Morgan?' Luffy thought.

"Wait a minute!" Sanji said. "You don't mean 'Axe-Hand Morgan,' that guy?" Delilah then sighed.

"Fine. I'll tell you all about it" Delilah said. "My uncle is Robert "Axe-Hand" Morgan. Are you satisfied now?"

"You mean that guy from the naval base?" Luffy said. "He's your uncle?"

"Yes but I'm not proud of it" Delilah said. "All of the men in my family consider women good only at home and perhaps a few other places but never as a soldier. I want to be something greater than just a mother or a housewife. I'm not saying that being a mother or a housewife is bad but I didn't want getting married and having kids was the only purpose in my life!" She then raised the sword-cutter. "And that purpose is to become the greatest bounty hunter that ever lived!"

'That's her dream?' Luffy thought.

'What a woman!' Sanji thought.

"And my purpose is to become the greatest swordsman in the world!" Zoro said. He then pointed his sword at her. "I'm also willing to do anything to achieve it, so I'll win this fight!"

"I already know that" Delilah said. "When we met a few years ago, you told me about your ultimate goal. I know that there are pirates who are very good swordsmen so you may still fulfill your promise." She then raised her sword-cutter again. "But you're on the wrong side of the law here!" She then swung it at his legs.

"Zoro!" Nami yelled.

'Did she cut him?' Luffy thought.

'She only got my right knee' Zoro thought. 'I got to get a distance from her." He then jumped back to Sanji.

"Zoro?" Sanji said. The green-haired former bounty hunter picked up his second sword.

'I now got the second sword' Zoro thought. 'Now all I have to do is get the third sword and I'll be all set again.'

'He got the second sword' Delilah thought. 'I already defeated his premier attack so what is he planning to do once he gets the third one?'

'She's watching me,' Zoro thought. 'I got to make a plan to get the third sword by Usopp but how do I get it without going through Delilah? I guess I got no choice but to fight with only two swords so here it goes!' He then ran toward her.

"You're charging at me?" Delilah said. "You must've snapped!" She then raised her sword-cutter. "I'll show you my final move!" She then swung her weapon at him. He then jumped above her.

'He's trying to go above me?' Delilah thought. 'I can't swing fast enough to get him!' She then tried to jerk her weapon up but it was too slow. Zoro had already jumped over her and grabbed the third remaining sword which was by Usopp.

'I got them all now,' Zoro thought. 'I can do my attack now!' He then picked up his third sword and put it in his mouth. He then looked at Delilah.

'Is he planning to do that attack again?' she thought. 'He should know that I saw that move. It wouldn't fool this time as I already seen it so why is he going to do it again?'

"I know that you've seen my main attack so you may be wondering what I'm going to do next," Zoro said. He then took a step toward her. "I met you a few years ago when we were after the same wanted man. We then got into a battle with the wanted man and his crew. After we won, you said that if we meet again, we'll go on another mission."

"Yeah but you're a pirate now!" Delilah said. "I can't make a deal with a pirate!"

"I know that," Zoro said. "I know that you would never make a deal with a pirate so I wouldn't say anything. I just want to say this though." He then paused. "I may be a pirate now but I always keep my promises!"

"But you're still a pirate!" Delilah said. She then swung her sword-cutter. "I'll defeat you with one swing!"

'She's gone mad!' Nami thought.

'I know that she'll do it!' Zoro thought. 'I got to stop her before she can kill me!' He then put his swords in their places and ran at her.

'He think he can do it again?' Delilah thought. 'Oh well. I have to teach him a hard lesson.' She then swung her sword-cutter at him.

"O-ni-giri!" Zoro yelled. He then did his attack on her.

'Ha! I can just unleash my sword-cutter at him again and huh?' Delilah stopped thinking when she felt her sword-cutter stop moving. She then looked to see that Zoro's swords had stopped her knife blade within inches of his head.

"Got you!" Zoro said.

'He got my knife between his two swords!' Delilah thought. 'What do I do now? This never happened before!'

'Now I can finally end this' Zoro thought. "Onigiri!" He then did his attack again. A stream of blood came out of her mouth.

'Did he defeat her?' Luffy thought.

'Are we saved?' Usopp thought.

'Is it all over?' Sanji thought.

'Did she really go down?' Nami thought.

'I did it' Zoro thought. 'I defeated her...' He then fell down in a pool of his blood.

"ZORO!" Everybody then rushed to his side. Luffy and Sanji picked him up. Zoro's front was soaked red in blood. Nami and Usopp came to them.

"Is he still alive?" Nami asked.

"Oh yeah," Luffy said. "The loss of blood must've caused him to pass out."

"We need to get him to the ship fast!" Nami said. "I can get help him there."

"Let's get him there now!" Sanji said. Just as they were about to take Zoro to the ship, Delilah rose.

"I now have you all where I want you!" Delilah said, swinging her sword-cutter.

"But you made a promise that if either of you go down, you wouldn't go after each other!" Luffy said.

"I didn't say it was over yet!" Delilah said.

"That's not fair! You were down first!" Luffy said.

"Well I'm up again!" Delilah said. "And I know where you are going too! I can just alert the naval base! They know who I am! Don't worry. You can get hanged where Gold Rogers was!" She then grinned.

"I'm not going to die before I found the One Piece and become the greatest pirate in the world!" Luffy said. "So I am not going to get hanged even though I do want to go to that place myself."

"I have to do this," Delilah said. "I'm a bounty hunter and I'll-" She then fell down. "-lie down for a while." She then went out. A few minutes later and without her moving again, they all went to the newly repaired ship.

"Do you think it was a mistake to let her go?" Sanji asked a fully awakened Zoro. They were already out at sea.

"Yeah" Zoro said, looking back at the direction of the island. "I don't know when she'll wake up but with her little boat, she'll likely arrive at Roguetown a bit later than we will. Or she'll get a better boat. In any case, by the time she arrives we'll be long gone to the Grand Line."

"That's true" Sanji said. Luffy then looked at Nami.

"So how far are we to this town?" Luffy asked her.

"We should be there in a day or two," Nami replied. "As long as we don't run into storms or people like her." Luffy then looked across the water. Nami looked at Zoro.

"Are you okay with leaving her like that?" Nami asked him. He looked at her.

"She's a bounty hunter" Zoro said. "Knowing her, she is probably repairing her boat right now and leaving to Roguetown once she's ready. Her boat's small so unless she gets a new one we'll be there before she does."

"So you don't think she'll be a problem in the future with you?" Nami asked.

"It's not like we're best friends," Zoro said. "She's a very good bounty hunter so I don't think we've seen the last of her."

"I guess not" Nami said. She then looked out into the ocean. "Still, I wonder what she's going to do next."

A few days later...

BANG! The door swung wide open. Everyone in the tavern looked at the purple-haired woman that appeared at the door. She grinned wildly.

"How many of you boys would like to go on a treasure hunt?" the woman said in a loud voice.

"I could use a few berries," a grey-haired man said, grinning.

"You have a treasure map?" another man asked.

"I don't, but I do know an island that may have some treasure," Delilah said, still smiling.

"Is that true?" a server asked.

"Yep" Delilah said. "So who's going to be members of my crew?" At that, almost every hand went up.

"Good" Delilah said. She now have enough men to carry out her new plan. It was going to be a long-term one but if she does get the treasure, she can finally retire and end the bounty hunter business for good.

But first, she got one more thing to do.

The End

I'm finally done with this story. At first, I thought to make this into more chapters but it ran out of steam so I figured that I should end this now. I like to thank everyone that read and reviewed this fic. While I am sorry that I had to cut it short, I do feel relieved that it's over. One Piece was created by Eiichiro Oda and is the property of Shueisha Inc. and Viz Media. Don't forget to review!

Author Notes:

Delilah Morgan is my original character for this fic. She has purple hair though not as short as Nami but not very long either. It only reaches down to her shoulders. I figured that since she should be a tomboy but I thought it would be good for her to have some male appeal. Delilah is the niece of "Axe-Hand" Morgan. I assumed that he was named after the privateer Sir Henry Morgan who served Britain at the Indian Ocean but died in poverty at Bermuda. (A privateer was basically a licensed pirate hired by a nation to loot enemy ships in case you didn't know). The name Delilah was from the famous female traitor from the Bible. While Delilah wasn't technically a traitor but she did turn against the Straw Hat crew.

I wrote this when the only clean version in English was in the manga which wasn't very much. I was therefore at the mercy of the online manga scanlations which I thought was inconsistent. I didn't think I could read all the volumes so my story may have looked sketchy at times. If I did mess up on something, I apologize.

I'll now turned my attention to Delilah's weapon.

In addition to knives, Delilah uses a weapon called the sword-cutter. It's basically a ball and chain with a concealed knife that can be released and strike any target that she throws it at. She's really good at aiming. If she can see it, she usually can hit it.

I now like to reply to a few comments and/or questions that my reviewers made for my fic:

Rayame325: Thanks so much for reviewing my One Piece fic! It may not have been great but I tried. Delilah was a very good character that I made, but I felt the story just ran out of steam in the end. I do want to thank you for reviewing this fic though it wasn't very good.

I have no idea if you're still active here or not (I still have your story "Inbetweeners" on Story Alert but it hasn't been updated in a long time. I did enjoy it). I hoped that you're doing okay. I don't know if you're taking a long break or you just put it on hiatus. If you need any help, please let me know.

I was going from the manga to the anime and back again so I was a bit inconsistent. I end up sticking to the manga- I just find it easier to remember when I read the manga rather than watch the anime. However, I can only remember so much. If I do another One Piece fic which doesn't seem likely right now, I'll find a more reliable source.

In any case, I hoped that the fic was still readable. The Money Pit was inspired by the true story of Oak Island. In case you didn't know, Oak Island is near Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada. It's believed that there's some hidden treasure after tunnels were discovered that was obviously man-made and items like coconut husks were also found (coconuts of course can't be found in the North Atlantic and both piracy and privateering was practiced up here). Stories about a possible treasure begin to circulate but despite every effort known to man no treasure has ever been found. Without finding any treasure, the purpose of the tunnels remains one of the most unsolved historical mysteries in Nova Scotia.


End file.
